San Diego County Water Authority Drought Update

I’m so pleased to share with you some great news about our drought response efforts. This week, we reached an agreement with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California that will provide water to parts of Southern California facing extraordinary supply constraints due to cutbacks on the State Water Project.

This kind of solution was only possible because of the long-term planning and investments the San Diego region made in supply reliability over the past 30 years.  

Under the deal approved by both agencies, Metropolitan will secure additional groundwater in 2022 from the Semitropic Water Bank in Kern County. Metropolitan can use that water to serve areas in the northwest and northeast parts of its service area that aren’t connected to its Colorado River supplies and are heavily reliant on limited State Water Project supplies.

In 2008, we secured supplies in the Semitropic Water Bank for our region in preparation for drought. Due to other supply and storage investments and sustained water conservation in San Diego County, we do not need to tap our Semitropic account to meet the region’s projected water demands in 2022, providing an opportunity to sell that water for use in other parts of the state. Access to the Semitropic Water Bank is important because it is strategically located along the California Aqueduct and can supplement limited State Water Project deliveries.

This effort highlights our collaborative engagement with MWD. We are starting a new chapter in that relationship that focuses on solutions to California’s biggest challenges, including drought and climate change. 

To learn more about the great work of the San Diego County Water Authority, Click Here

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